Method of making bulge-panels for furniture.



J. HERZ'OG.

METHOD OF MAKING BULGE PANELS FOR FURNITURE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.19, 1911.

Patented May 14, 1912.

11;; 9 fi a WITNESSES:

INVENTOR ATTORNEY UNITED OFFICE.

JOHN HERZOG', 0F SAGINAW, MICHIGAN.

METHOD OF MAKING BULGE-PANELS FOR FURNITURE.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN I-Innzoc, a citizenof the United States, residing at Saginaw, in the county of Saginaw andState of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inMethods of Making Bulge-Panels for Furniture; and I do hereby declarethe following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

This invention is a method of making bulge panels and pertains moreparticularly to a method of making a veneered furniture panel, thesurface of which is neither fiat nor curved in one direction, as is nowcommon, but on the contrary is curved in all directions so that thefinished surface presents a bulged or raised middle part that presents awarped surface in all directions.

The attainment of certain artistic effects in furniture can be producedonly by the bulging of the panels, so as to present either a singleraised portion, or if desired, a plurality of raised portions on thesurface of the panel. Various methods of producing such bulged panelshavebeen devised heretofore, but have proven defective because of theliability of the panel to warp or split, and because of the tendency ofthe outer layer of veneer to check and crack.

It is to be understood that bulge panels to be commercially successfulmust be as capable of resisting any tendency to Warp and check as in anyordinary flat panel.

By my improved method which will be described in the specification, I amenabled to produce a bulge panel of any desired design that iscomparatively inexpensive to manufacture, that will not warp or checkunder any ordinary changes of temperature or weather conditions to whichfurniture is usually subjected, and in which there is no more tendencyfor the veneer to check or separate from the core or backing than thereis for veneer to separate from a flat surface.

With these and certain other objects in view which will appear later inthe specification, my improved method will now be described, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings which show for purpose ofillustration a panel having a single oblong bulge. It will beunderstood, however, that my method is adaptable to panels Specificationof Letters Patent.

Application filed September 19, 1911.

Patented May 14, 1912.

Serial No. 650,136.

having various forms of bulges, and that a single panel may contain morethan one bulge if desired.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a top plan view of a board from which thepanel strips are cut; Fig. 2 is an end view of the same board; Fig. 3 isa top plan view of a panel core formed by assembling the strips shown inFig. 1, the top surface of the core being dressed down to approximatelythe form of the bulge; Fig. 4 is a view of one end of the panel shown inFig. 3; Fig. 5 an end view of the opposite end of the panel; Fig. 6 is atop plan view to a reduced scale, of the shaped veneer; Fig. 7 is alongitudinal section 011 the line 00-m of Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is a transversesection on the line y z of Fig. 6, showing the ends of the adjacentpieces of veneer overlapped; and Fig. 9 is a similar section showing theends butted.

In following my improved method, I first build up a core or shell ofapproximately the shape of the completed bulge panel, then dress thesurface of the core by cutting away the material until the final contouris attained. To the surface of the core thus formed I apply a shell ofveneer, the shell having previously been formed to conform approximatelyto the shape of the completed bulge, so that the veneer shell of itselfpresents approximately the bulge form of the completed panel. Thepurpose of shaping the veneer before applying it to the core is toinsure that all shrinkage strains and all tendency to warp is eliminatedfrom the veneer before it is finally put in place on the core. Toprevent the core itself from warping out of shape or checking, I alsoeliminate from it all tendency to shrink or distort and I accomplishthis result by the method which I employ in building up the core.

To illustrate my method in detail, reference may be had to the drawings,where 1 to 5 represent the strips from which the core is built up, thestrips being preferably sawed to templet from a flat board 6, asindicated in Figs. 1 and 2. The strips are then assembled side to side,as indicated in Figs. 3, 4 and 5 and are glued or otherwise securedtogether to form the core. The shape of the successive strips 1 to 5depends upon the shape of the desired bulge and when the strips areassembled the core presents a stepped outer surface of irregular shape.I then remove by cutting, either by hand or with a suitable automaticmachine, the surplus material from the outer surface of the core, and ifan interior depression is desired, I also remove the surplus materialfrom the inside of the core so that successive transverse sectionsthrough the core would present irregular shapes, as indicated by dottedlines at 7, 8, 9 and 10 in Figs. 3 and 4. It will be noticed that byfirst shaping the strips, then gluing them together side to side, andthen removing the surplus material from the outside or inside or both,no tendency to check or warp is introduced into the panel as would bethe case if any method of steaming and stretching were employed. I alsoprepare the veneered shell after the manner illustrated in Figs. 6 and9. This veneered shell is prepared in the following manner: A sheet ofveneer of a size suitable to cover one-half of the completed panel isshaped over a suitable form (not shown) by the common methods ofpressing and heating, which are now generally employed for shapingveneer. I then similarly shape a piece of veneer to cover the other halfof the panel, then place the two pieces 11 and 12 together with theiredges overlapping, as indicated at 18. I then sever the overlapped edgesby passing a knife lengthwise the two sheets, and then butt the twoedges, as indicated at 14 in Fig. 9. I then bind the two veneer piecestogether by strips of cloth 15 glued to them. The veneer shell so formedis practically free from tendency to warp or shrink and will maintainits bulged form with a very small amount of tendency to distortion, eventhough it be not mounted on a core. The veneer shell is then applied tothe surface of the core by gluing or any other suitable means. After theveneer is applied it is polished in the usual manner.

By the method above described; I am enabled to produce bulge panels ofany de sired contour and of great strength, having.

ond, gluing said strips together side by side.

to form a stepped core of irregular surface contour; third, removing thesurplus material from the face of the core; fourth, preparing two warpedsheets of veneer, each of approximately the contour of half the bulgepanel; fifth, fitting the ends of said pieces of veneer togetherto forma veneer shell of approximately the contour of the face of said core;and sixth, gluing said veneer shell to the face of said core.

2. The herein described method of producing bulge panels, consisting infirst producing a plurality of shaped strips; second, fastening saidstrips together side by side to form a core of irregular surfacecontour; 3rd, removing the surplus material from the face of the core;ith, preparing a bulged sheet of veneer of approximately the contour ofthe bulge panel; 5th, securing said bulged sheet of veneer to the faceof said core.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN HERZOG.

Witnesses CHRISTINE A. BRAIDEL,

Gno. W. SMITH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Washington, D. c."

Commissioner of Patents,

